


So Few Come and Don't Go

by 2amEuphoria



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: BUT JUST HOLD ON and hear me out ok, Eve mention too, F/M, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I really couldn't help myself, PLEASE JUST HOLD ON TIL THE END, Requested by anon, and wrote this over multiple days which only added to its length, if you like it (or don't) that's fine too, sorry this is kinda long
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-16 07:41:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21504295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2amEuphoria/pseuds/2amEuphoria
Summary: "Come on, it’s more fun than sitting in a parked car watching hours of nothing but rich people sleeping.”“You got that damn right. Ok, I’m in.”Malcolm ends up giving Dani that full house tour he'd promised. Requested by Anon via Tumblr. Set post 1x08.
Relationships: Malcolm Bright & Jessica Whitly, Malcolm Bright/Dani Powell
Comments: 21
Kudos: 162





	So Few Come and Don't Go

**Author's Note:**

> Requested by Anon on my Tumblr earlier last week-Hope you like this!
> 
> (Title is part of the lyrics to “Look After You” by the Fray. That song always reminds me of them.)

Somehow she was always involved in his business.

It started 45 minutes ago, when one of the rookies who was supposed to keep watch outside the Whitly residence called out sick. She was unsure of what possessed her to volunteer to do it instead.

“Really, Powell?” Gil chuckled. “You, doing the night shift?”

“Who else is gonna do it, then? JT?”

“Hard pass,” JT called from behind his desk.

“If you insist, then,” Gil replied, “but I don’t want you there all night, you haven’t slept yet. I’ll get another officer to relieve you around 3am, is that clear?”

“You got it, sir,” she replied, grabbing her keys and heading out into the night.

__________

An hour in and she was bored. Dead-tired and bored. Why’d she agree to this again?

She’d sat through stakeouts where seconds felt like hours, but even then there was always something to watch-a family of raccoons trying to break into a trash can, a nervous couple out on their first date, an obnoxious dog trying to be shut up while out on a walk with its owner. 

But this? This neighborhood? It had none of those things. So fancy that even a family of raccoons would be intimidated trying to break into a trash can, too far from a place where a couple on their first date could afford a simple meal, and there weren’t any obnoxious dogs to be shut up by their owners, because everyone had settled in and shut their lights off at 9pm.

Dani contemplated excuses to use if she were to call Gil and ask him to let her go home early.

Before she could unlock her phone and call him, though, she saw the front door to the Whitly home open, and watched Malcolm descend the steps. She knew he’d left the precinct early, but she assumed he’d gone home to nurse himself after his injuries-not go to see his mother. 

Maybe he was just resting up in his childhood home instead. _Although,_ Dani thought, _given the state his mother’s been in, I doubt anyone would be able to rest comfortably there…_

She was pulled from her thoughts by the sight of him waving and approaching her car. Slightly embarrassed (though she couldn’t quite pinpoint why), she rolled down her window and gave him a quick wave back.

Malcolm was laughing as he jogged the rest of the way to her car. “How much did Gil pay you to watch over my mother?” He chuckled at his own comment.

“Well, I’ll get all his sick days, so it’ll balance itself out.” She winked at him.

“Oh really?” he scoffed sarcastically. “The man never takes any sick days, so you could go off the grid for a few months if you wanted to. Lucky you!”

Dani was about to spit back an equally sarcastic comment before Malcolm sighed and looked at his phone. “Did you get a call from him, by the way?”

“No, why?”

“It’s official,” Malcolm said, turning to stare off down the street, “the FBI’s moved in to take over the investigation. And we’re off the case-all of us.”

“Wait, what?” she gasped. She sat up a little taller in her seat, her body sub-consciously reflecting how defensive she became. “Why, do they think we’re not competent enough to handle things around here? I swear-”

“It doesn’t matter, Dani. You can’t reason with them.” He sighed again, looking down at the ground. “I’d know.”

Her face softened. She knew he’d been fired by them, and for as much as she could see why when he made questionable decisions, his profiling abilities were unparalleled-honestly, she thought the FBI’s loss was the NYPD’s gain. 

He looked back up to her, offering a smile as if to distract her from how down he’d just been. “So… You still want that full tour of the Whitly household?”

She blinked at him in disbelief. “You were serious about that?”

“Well, yeah, I guess. Plus my mother’s gone to bed, so she won’t be up and bothering us. Come on, it’s more fun than sitting in a parked car watching hours of nothing but rich people sleeping.”

“You got that damn right. Ok, I’m in.”

She followed behind him with her hands shoved deep into her pockets, a bit wary of it all. Last time she entered his house was as a detective on duty, and she never had nerves about going into anyone’s home when she knew it was strictly NYPD business. This time, however, she was going as a guest, as a guest into the house of someone she…

_Nope, Powell, don’t even think about that._

“Feels like I’m some idiot teenager, following a friend into their house because ‘their mom’s sleeping,’” Dani tried to joke with him, but her nerves betrayed her, and her voice seemed off as a result.

Malcolm smirked at her. “Did you do that a lot as a teen, then?”

She stiffened. “Hell no! That was my sister. I was the one who came to pick her delinquent ass up.”

The mention of a sister caught him off guard. “I didn’t realize you had siblings,” he murmured.

“I’m the middle child. Older brother, younger sister. And me, second in line, left to put up with their shit.”

They were walking up the front steps to his home now, but he didn’t want to go in just yet. He wanted to hear more about Dani, and her life as a middle child, with a “delinquent” sister-

“That’s all stories for another day. We going in, Bright? It’s kinda cold.”

Malcolm snapped back to the present. “Yeah, ‘course.” He unlocked the door and stepped back, gesturing for her to go in first. “Right this way, madam.”

She rolled her eyes, though her upturned lips showed him that she was being just as playful. “Ew, gross.”

He followed her in, closing the front door quietly as she stood in the front entryway, taking all of it in. 

“So,” he started, “as mentioned previously, this is where my father was arrested and dragged out of the house for killing 23 people. I hate to make the highlight of the tour be the first thing you see, but, well… Here it is.”

Dani rolled her eyes. “You know that’s not the highlight of the tour for me.”

He smirked, his eyes wandering elsewhere, distant in thought. “When I was younger and had friends over- _if_ I ever did, maybe that’s a memory I made up- all they wanted to see was this hallway. Where my father knelt down to speak to me before he was led away. Where I stood in shock as I took all of it in. Where my mother cowered in fear”-he gestured to a smaller side room off to their left- "as she held Ainsley.” He let out a breathless, sarcastic laugh. “I’m surprised no one ever asked me to reenact it.”

Her hand softly grazed his shoulder, helping to comfort him but also pull him from his reverie. As expected, his gaze-and thoughts- immediately snapped back to her. “I promise I won’t ask you to.”

“Thank you,” he murmured. “So anyways, right ahead is the main parlor room. You watched my mother offer everyone and herself an alcoholic beverage last time you were in here, but I promise that we drink non-alcoholic beverages in here, too.” He loved the reaction he got out of her from that comment-that high-brow, sarcastically incredulous look that was _so_ her. 

“And, like I said, this is where we keep the Christmas tree, there’s the portrait of my great uncle Douglas-very good-looking, as you said-and next to him is my great aunt Diana. They were soulmates, or so my mom says.”

“How poetic,” Dani said.

He smirked at her. “Nah, it’s actually kinda creepy. Ainsley used to say their eyes would follow you around at night.”

“Would not surprise me. So what else is there?”

He tossed his head in the direction of a door off to the right and led her through there, again holding the door for her as they went into the main hallway. He showed her the kitchen: “the only room my mother’s rarely ever in, and if you do happen to find her there, call 911, because something’s clearly wrong with her if she’s touching the stove.”

“Somehow I’m not surprised that your mom doesn’t cook, and yet you do? How?” She asked.

He smiled, looking at his feet. “That I owe to Gil and Jackie,” he answered, his voice indicating that he was lost in his memories. “They taught us how to make everything from cookies for Santa to a typical Thanksgiving dinner. And then before we graduated college, they taught us how to make easy meals for ourselves. You should’ve seen my mother’s face when she saw me make ramen once in my dorm room. Classic.”

She brought her hand to her mouth to conceal her laughter. Malcolm gave her a mischievous smile in return. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you laugh this much, you know that?”

She controlled herself, but gave him a coy grin. “Next?”

He went on to show her their dining room, complete with a few tales of how he and Ainsley had engaged in food fights with one another (much to their mother’s dismay) over the years, followed by a few “tea rooms” and “sitting rooms” (“I…don’t see the difference in either room, dude,” she told him, even after he tried to explain the difference to her). She also commented on how the majority of the rooms still had wallpaper, something that “only rich people seem to still have a preference for.” 

“You know… You’re right. Good deduction, Miss Holmes.” That made them both laugh under their breath.

Dani couldn’t help but eye him closely throughout the tour, knowing each moment when his mind escaped to good-and bad-memories of his past growing up here. She knew that even one’s childhood home could make someone uneasy when remembering everything that took place there-she thought of mentioning how her own childhood home would probably make her feel the same if she ever went back there, but decided it might do more harm than good. She didn’t want the attention on her; this was his time, to share his story. 

He brought her up a flight of stairs, where the bedrooms were. “I hate to break it to you, but my bedroom here now isn’t covered in airplanes and dinosaurs like it used to be,” he whispered, and Dani remembered how his mother was sleeping in a room somewhere on the same floor. “I’m sorry that you won’t have that as blackmail against me, I really am.”

“I’m sure I’ll find something else to use against you; I’m pretty crafty.”

He gave her that huge smile (and her personal favorite of his), the one that touched the corners of his eyes, before he opened the door to his room.

Dani was shocked. Not by the sheer _size_ of what was once a child’s bedroom (she thought the room she shared with her sister was big; man, was she wrong), or the closet space, or even the fact that he still had a picture of his whole family-including his father-framed and hanging up by a dresser. No, she was surprised that he had all this space to put the king-sized bed that was now within it anywhere he wanted, but he chose to have it flush against a wall in a corner, next to a window. 

“No offense, but did whichever fancy-ass interior designer you guys hired forget to arrange your room?” She said it and _immediately_ regretted it, but Malcolm chuckled in response.

“No, I chose to have the bed there.” The look on his face this time indicated that he was recollecting fond memories now. “It’s always been in that corner. I spent a lot of time looking out that window. I…still do now, whenever I spend the night here.”

She felt herself staring at that window with the same reverence he had. She could only imagine the comfort gazing outside brought him- how a window, at times, may have been the only escape he had from what he’d endured.

“Thank you, Bright, for telling me that.”

“Of course,” he murmured, and went to shut the door before she stopped him.

“Wait. Where did you keep the snakes?”

He raised an eyebrow and gave her that award-winning smile again before pointing to a desk in a different corner of the room. “There used to be a table there, before I had a desk put in its place. Bomba, Sweetie, and Yoda all lived there.”

The snort that escaped her definitely woke his mother up, if they hadn’t disturbed her already. 

“Oh no,” he said mockingly, “There’s your ammo to hold against me. I’m terrified.”

“Was the snake green? You have to tell me now.”

“You’d be right.” 

She playfully punched his shoulder, still trying to stifle a giggle. “That’s all I needed to hear. Let’s move on.”

Ainsley’s room, as she expected, looked like it was straight out of a page of _Vogue._ The vanity set-up alone looked like it was made for a Hollywood actress, let alone a local news reporter. Like her brother, she also had a framed picture of the entire Whitly family on her wall, but also pictures from both her and Malcolm’s high school and college graduations. “She really must care about you,” Dani murmured to him as she scanned across the photos. “I’d like to think she does,” he replied before leading them out.

He showed her two- _two_ \- guest bedrooms that were also on the same floor before they headed towards the stairs to the ground floor. Dani was two steps ahead of him before she heard a door swing up, and a woman’s voice-definitely his mother’s-call his name. 

“Malcolm? Is that you talking?”

She remained frozen in place on the staircase, suddenly too anxious to follow him back up and re-introduce herself. She still heard the entirety of their conversation-Malcolm apologizing for waking his mother, saying he’d promised Dani an extended tour after she and the rest of the team visited the house the other night (which earned a “Dani? Who’s that again?” from his mother), that they were heading out soon. 

“I see. Oh, Malcolm, by the way, I wanted to tell you: I spoke with Eve Blanchard again before I went to bed, about her visiting you… I said you’d be happy to take her out to dinner sometime. I hope that’s okay. She’s a _really_ sweet girl, as I’m sure you know, and I figured it’d be fun for you two to get to know each other better.” 

Dani’s face flushed. She thought she’d felt out of place here before, but she definitely did now.

“O-Oh. Okay then,” Malcolm stuttered back. “I’ll speak to her eventually.”

“Perfect!” Dani heard his mother squeal. “I can’t wait to hear all about it. Goodnight, sweetheart.”

Malcolm made his way back down the staircase to Dani, his own face a bit red. “I have absolutely no idea what goes through her head sometimes. Sorry you had to hear that.”

“No, it’s okay. I don’t know who Eve is, but, I’m happy for you.”

“Truth be told, I don’t really know who she is either,” Malcolm confessed, staring off again. “Therefore I’m not exactly sure why my mother would even suggest such a thing…” He quickly composed himself, turning to her and offering a smile. “Anyway, the last part of the tour’s the basement, where my dad surely committed half his crimes and hid evidence pertaining to the rest of them. It’s right over-”

She put a hand on his arm before he walked off. “You don’t have to show me that. I’m not interested.”

He looked down at her hand on his arm, to which she quickly let go and shoved her hand in her jacket pocket.

“Thank you. For uh, not letting me revisit the basement, I mean.”

“Not a problem. I think I should get going, if that’s okay… Are you staying here, or do you need a ride back to your place?”

“A ride would be great. Thanks, Dani.”

__________

“Thanks again for driving me back; you really didn’t have to.”

It had been the longest 30-minute car ride of her life. The quick call she made to the precinct to have another officer watch the Whitly household wasn’t enough to stave off the awkwardness that still hung in the air. He tried to make small talk with her about the Junkyard Killer case-what they’d do now that they wouldn’t be investigating it anymore- but she felt detached, distant, and she knew it was probably unsettling him. But she couldn’t help it, not after they’d been wandering around his childhood home, happy, content, more comfortable around each other than they’d ever been, only for her to realize just how _hurt_ she felt when she heard his mother mention taking another girl out on a date. It affected her more than she ever thought it would to overhear that.

“Not a problem, Bright, seriously.”

He undid his seatbelt, but stared at the center console of her car, unwilling to leave. She knew something was on his mind, and she figured she knew what it was, though she couldn’t bear to hear it. “Dani-”

“-Will you be alright when we go back to the precinct tomorrow? With the FBI being there and everything?” She had to deflect him, she _had_ to.

“Oh. Well, I guess… I can only imagine who they’ve brought in. And I’m sure I’ll get chewed out by someone. Not like that doesn’t happen regularly anyway, with Gil I mean.” They both smiled at that. “Yeah. I’m sure it won’t be easy, but I’ll be okay… I guess.”

She set her other emotions aside, distracting herself by feeling concerned for him. He’d never seemed so unsure of himself as he did now, talking about the people who’d fired him, who’d surely shaken his faith in himself before he started working for the NYPD. She could tell that this was still something he hadn’t fully recovered from.

“Well hey, I’ll back you up if they talk to you, alright?” His eyes flicked up to meet hers, and she inched over in her seat to be closer to him. “I’ll make sure they don’t completely tear you apart. Although I have to admit, sometimes you need that.” 

He chuckled. “I do, I do. Thank you.”

What happened next felt like a blur to them both. Dani leaned forward and started to put her arms out, about to say “try not to think about it too much tonight, okay?” and hug him. Malcolm reacted by leaning in to meet her, his eyes beginning to close, his lips parted.

They both realized at the same time what the other was doing and jerked away.

“I’m sorry,” the said at the same time. Then Malcolm laughed, his cheeks turning rosy. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean- I was just going to hug you,” Dani stammered, her own face turning red as well. “I’m really sorry.”

They sat in silence for what felt like years, but was probably seconds, before Malcolm finally spoke up. “No, _I’m_ sorry Dani. I should’ve realized that sooner.”

_Fucking hell, Powell. Just ask him._

“Did you really want to, though, Bright? What- what you were about to do.”

She stared ahead out the windshield, but felt his eyes on her. “Yes. If that would’ve been okay with you, then yes.”

“Huh… Oh, screw it then,” she said, unclipping her seatbelt and leaning over to kiss him.

She wasn’t sure what she thought it would feel like, his lips on hers. But whatever she thought, what she was feeling now was ten times better.

She pulled back suddenly, remembering how he’d flinched away from her touch the night she went to take the wire he was wearing off of his chest. “If this is too much-”

“I’d let you know. I feel comfortable enough to let you know. But it’s okay, I’m okay.” He pulled her back in for another kiss before he stopped to ask if _she_ was okay with this.

“Absolutely. I feel comfortable enough to let you know, too.”

They couldn’t keep themselves off each other. One of his hands cradled her cheek, while his other hand snagged around her waist, pulling her as close as the car would allow them to be. Her hands instantly went to his hair, her fingers threading through strand after strand of his blonde locks before roaming further down his face.

By the time they pulled apart, they noticed that the front windshield of her car was completely fogged over. She snorted, and he laughed at her snorting, and suddenly they were both laughing with their foreheads pressed together, hands still perusing each other’s bodies.

Her eyes met his. “I shouldn’t have done that, even if you wanted to. You have a date coming up.”

“Not exactly; I never really asked her in the first place.”

“Malcolm-” she started, and suddenly they were both taken back by the fact that she’d used his first name instead of “Bright.” He kissed her again, as if to thank her.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. I have someone else in mind who I’d much rather take.”

“Gil’s gonna kill us,” she said between kisses. “JT’s gonna find out in 5 seconds. And you know Edrisa always flirts with you. Your mother’s going to wonder why you won’t take that girl out.”

“All minute details,” he murmured, kissing her forehead. “All easy to handle.” His thumb rubbed small circles around her cheek, and she leaned into his touch.

“You can come inside, if you like,” he offered. 

“Sorry bud, I’m not _that_ easy,” she responded, slightly embarrassed. She really _did_ like him, but knew how easily things could be ruined if she…

“No- no, that’s not what I meant at all,” he said, laughing. “I meant it’s already late, and I don’t want you to have to drive all the way home, and I mean, you’ve technically already spent the night here before, although in a chair on my kitchen island, which I wouldn’t make you do again.” She smirked at the memory. “I have a guest bedroom upstairs if you’d like to stay there.”  
__________

She followed him inside with a change of clothes that were always in the back of her car (“in case I get covered in blood or something from a crime scene,” she told him, though he stared at her incredulously for a half-second before bursting out laughing). He made them something quick to eat, gave her a pair of his pajamas before changing into his own, but he was surprised when he found her on his bed after he came out of the bathroom.

“What?” she said when he stared at her in disbelief. “You’ve told me you’ve had _plenty_ of sex, but you’ve never actually slept with someone.”

Despite how many times he asked her if she minded the restraints, or the mouth guard, or the fact that he might have a night terror at some point, she assured him that she was fine with it all. She settled into his arms, her head against his chest. 

“Thank you, for showing me the place where you grew up tonight. And for everything after, too.”

He kissed the top of her curls. “Not a problem. Thank _you_ \- admittedly not that many people get to know me this well.”

“I think there’s a lot more to learn about each other,” she murmured against his t-shirt, “but there’s plenty of time for that. I’m in no rush.”

“Neither am I.”

She smiled up at him. “Get some sleep, please. We have a long day tomorrow.”  
He kissed her softly. “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try.”  
__________

Admittedly, he didn’t sleep much at all, though he tried to fake it by keeping his eyes closed so he wouldn’t worry her. His mind was wrapped up in everything that had happened tonight, how far he’d come in his relationship with Dani, and how much more time they had for it to grow. 

Dani didn’t sleep well either. At one point she woke up-he’d had a night terror, she’d calmed him down, and then she stayed awake as he fell back to sleep-and began to wonder if maybe she’d let things progress too fast with him. If she’d prematurely ruined this before it even began.

Regardless, at some point both of them fell asleep knowing that the timing for everything in their relationship was just fine the way it was.

**Author's Note:**

> I know. I know. I got quite carried away. I debated for days if this was how I wanted to end this fic. But I decided to just put it in there, because why not? It’s all fanfiction anyway. However their actual story plays out in the show, this is what fanfiction is made for: people’s imaginations. So if this works fine for your imagination, I’m glad. And if not, constructive feedback’s always fine, too.  
> I hope you enjoyed this at least, Anon!


End file.
